editorNPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94Cheryl Corley is an NPR correspondent who works for the National Desk and is based in Chicago. She travels throughout the Midwest covering issues and events throughout the region's 12 states. In recent years, Corley has reported on the campaign and re-election of President Barack Obama, on the efforts by Illinois officials to rethink the state's Juvenile Justice System, on youth violence in Chicago, and on political turmoil in the Illinois state government. She's reported on the infamous Trayvon Martin shooting case in Florida and covered tornadoes that have destroyed homes and claimed lives in Harrisburg, Illinois; small towns in Oklahoma; and Joplin, Missouri. In addition, Corley was among the group of NPR reporters covering the devastation caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita as they tore through the Gulf Coast. She returned to the area, five years later, and joined the reporting team covering the impact of the BP oil spill. Corley also has served as a fill-in host for NPR shows,NPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94Cheryl CorleySat, 13 Jan 2018 01:38:39 +0000Cheryl Corleyhttp://waer.org
Cheryl CorleyA fatal police shooting in Kansas late last month focused attention again on how so-called swatting — prank 911 calls designed to get SWAT teams to deploy — puts lives at risk and burdens police departments. There are more than 7,000 911 centers in the U.S. and, according to the National Emergency Number Association, they receive about 600,000 calls a day. Authorities don't track swatting calls nationally, though the FBI has been monitoring the practice of those types of fake calls for about a decade. Now, police say revolutionary changes in the works for the system could make swatting an even bigger problem. Detective Richard Wistocki, an Internet crimes investigator in Naperville, Ill., says what often drives them is people playing video games trying to get revenge on rivals. "Usually when this happens they will hack into somebody's phone system or they'll do something through a TTY relay, which is for the deaf," he explains. They make it look like the emergency phone call is comingBig Tech Improvements To 911 System Raise The Risk Of More 'Swatting'http://waer.org/post/big-tech-improvements-911-system-raises-risk-more-swatting
73976 as http://waer.orgThu, 11 Jan 2018 21:42:00 +0000Big Tech Improvements To 911 System Raise The Risk Of More 'Swatting'Cheryl CorleyIn Chicago, an odd mix of brazen action by detainees in jail and declining budgets is keeping public defenders from talking to their clients in the lockup areas behind county courtrooms. Cook County Public Defender Amy Campanelli says this will continue until authorities can find a way to stop some of the men in custody from exposing themselves to female attorneys. Campanelli says the majority — 60 percent — of the assistant public defenders in her office are women who often talk to clients in the lockup areas before they're brought into the courtroom. But, increasingly, there's been a problem. "And it's not the client they are talking to," she explains. "It's another inmate over to the side ... exposes themselves, pull downs their pants, sometimes goes further than that. It's disgusting, it's awful and my lawyers are being assaulted. It's an assault." Since January, more than 200 detainees have been charged with indecent exposure. Most of those incidents involve correctional officersIn Chicago, Female Public Defenders Want Men In Lockup To Keep It In Their Pantshttp://waer.org/post/chicago-female-public-defenders-want-men-lockup-keep-it-their-pants
71282 as http://waer.orgMon, 06 Nov 2017 18:21:00 +0000In Chicago, Female Public Defenders Want Men In Lockup To Keep It In Their PantsCheryl CorleyIf you've ever called 911 to report an emergency, thank the Johnson Crime Commission. Establishing a national emergency number was just one of more than 200 recommendations the Commission offered up in a landmark 1967 report "for a safer and more just society." Two years earlier, President Lyndon Johnson had appointed lawyers, educators, law enforcement officers, social workers and others – 19 members in all — to the group officially called the President's Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice. The 1960s was a turbulent decade, and crime had been a major concern. Johnson told the group he was spearheading a new "war on crime," and he wanted them to be revolutionary in their recommendations. Over 18 months, the Crime Commission, including 63 staffers and hundreds of consultants and advisers, collected data and studied everything from juvenile delinquency to organized crime. The final report, " The Challenge of Crime in a Free Society ," called for sweeping changesPresident Johnson's Crime Commission Report, 50 Years Laterhttp://waer.org/post/president-johnsons-crime-commission-report-50-years-later
70043 as http://waer.orgFri, 06 Oct 2017 11:00:00 +0000President Johnson's Crime Commission Report, 50 Years LaterCheryl CorleyCopyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit RACHEL MARTIN, HOST: The state of Illinois has been in a budget crisis since 2015. All that instability meant vendors didn't get paid, and students left state universities. Now finally, a breakthrough. Here's NPR's Cheryl Corley. CHERYL CORLEY, BYLINE: This was a political clash between a Democratic-led legislature and new Republican Governor Bruce Rauner. He wanted to implement changes he said would make Illinois more business friendly. Democrats said his agenda would hurt the middle class. Maria Whelan, the head of Illinois Action for Children, says the fight left plenty of collateral damage. She says the $36 billion budget that lawmakers approved will help restore programs for children and at-risk families. MARIA WHELAN: But as a state, we have a really long way to go in terms of figuring out how we rebuild. CORLEY: The budget, the first for Illinois since 2015, includes spending cuts and an income tax hike that will raise about $5 billion inAfter 2 Years, Illinois Passes A Budgethttp://waer.org/post/after-2-years-illinois-passes-budget
66417 as http://waer.orgFri, 07 Jul 2017 09:08:00 +0000After 2 Years, Illinois Passes A BudgetCheryl CorleyCopyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit KELLY MCEVERS, HOST: If you are in the market to buy or rent an exclusive luxury condo, there might be some motivated sellers in Chicago. There are a lot of condos for sale there at the Trump International Hotel and Tower. NPR's Cheryl Corley reports that market forces and divisive politics could both be factors. CHERYL CORLEY, BYLINE: On Wabash Avenue in Chicago, right near the Chicago River, Trump Tower rises more than 1,000 feet into the sky. It's a shimmering structure of glass and steel with panoramic views of the city. Luxury is definitely a part of the building's DNA, so is controversy, even from its very beginning. (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) PATTY DESTEFANI: Too much glass and chrome. TOM DESTEFANI: I don't think the lines fit with the rest of the area. And I'm just not thrilled about anything with Donald Trump's name attached to it in Chicago in the first place. CORLEY: That was Chicagoans Patty and Tom Destefani walking by theSales Are Slow For Trump Condos In Chicagohttp://waer.org/post/sales-are-slow-trump-condos-chicago
66311 as http://waer.orgTue, 04 Jul 2017 20:48:00 +0000Sales Are Slow For Trump Condos In ChicagoCheryl CorleyCopyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST: Public service announcement - Mother's Day is tomorrow. Cue up the usual - flowers or breakfast in bed. Then there's the plan hatched by a coalition of activists focused on racial and criminal justice issues. They teamed up to raise bail money for mothers behind bars to bail out women who might otherwise spend Mother's Day in jail. NPR's Cheryl Corley reports. CHERYL CORLEY, BYLINE: There's been a sharp increase in the number of women behind bars in this country, rising to more than a million since the 1980s. About 100,000 of them are locked up in jails waiting for their day in court. Rashad Robinson is the head of Color of Change, one of several organizations that teamed up to raise money for what they're calling National Mama Bail Out Day (ph). And Robinson says Mother's Day is the right time to examine how race, class and gender play a role in the criminal justice system. RASHAD ROBINSON: And these women on Mother's DayFor Some Moms, Posting Bail Means They Can Spend Mother's Day With Their Familieshttp://waer.org/post/some-moms-posting-bail-means-they-can-spend-mothers-day-their-families
64199 as http://waer.orgSat, 13 May 2017 22:52:00 +0000For Some Moms, Posting Bail Means They Can Spend Mother's Day With Their FamiliesCheryl CorleyThe design for the Obama Presidential Center was unveiled Wednesday at an event attended by former President Obama and Michelle Obama. The Center, slated to be completed in 2021, will be located in the Jackson Park neighborhood of Chicago's South side and it will include three buildings — a museum, forum and library that surround a public plaza. The buildings will be made up of variegated stone with glass openings to allow for natural light and be certified at LEED v4 Platinum for resource efficiency and sustainability. The Obamas are in Chicago Wednesday to unveil the library and host a roundtable discussion on the future of the Center. By planning more than one building, the Obama Foundation says it hopes the Center will be a "living, working center for engagement — an ongoing project for the community and world to shape what it means to be an active citizen in the 21st century." "The Obamas want to create a safe, warm, inviting place that brings people in, teaches them something newObama Presidential Center Design Unveiledhttp://waer.org/post/obama-presidential-center-design-unveiled
63757 as http://waer.orgWed, 03 May 2017 18:50:00 +0000Obama Presidential Center Design UnveiledCheryl CorleyA century ago, it was one of the biggest names in retail. Now, even Sears officials say its future could be in doubt — though they say they have plans to make sure the retail icon survives. Nancy Koehn with the Harvard Business School says that in its early days, Sears Roebuck and Co. was like Amazon is today — a retailer of great disruption. For Sears, it meant a path-breaking strategy of offering all sorts of merchandise in catalogs and building department stores in remote places with ample parking. "It wasn't the Internet, but it was the same idea that no matter where you are you can touch and feel and imagine what these different products could mean in your life by virtue of an outreach, a distribution channel that an imaginative and gutsy retailer — in this case Sears — had created and then invested in and then enlarged," Koehn says. Elgin, Ill., about 40 miles northwest of Chicago, is one town where Sears' innovation is clearly visible. Drive through the streets of oneIts Survival In Doubt, Sears Struggles To Transform Once Againhttp://waer.org/post/its-survival-doubt-sears-struggles-transform-once-again
63111 as http://waer.orgTue, 18 Apr 2017 11:31:00 +0000Its Survival In Doubt, Sears Struggles To Transform Once AgainCheryl CorleyAs gun violence continues to plague some of Chicago's neighborhoods, a violence prevention program is looking to tackle the issue by treating it like a public health crisis. Chicago's murder rate is below that of other cities, but the actual number of murders in the city last year — most from gun violence — exceeded the combined total of murders in New York City and Los Angeles. Cure Violence , a violence prevention program, was launched more than 20 years ago by epidemiologist Gary Slutkin, a professor of public health at the University of Illinois-Chicago. The program has been a force in several cities in U.S. and abroad. It gained national attention with the 2011 release of a documentary called The Interrupters , which showed former gang members intervening to prevent disputes from turning deadly. In Illinois, the Cure Violence organization is called CeaseFire . Slutkin says violence is a public health problem and should be treated like any other contagious disease. "The root causeTreat Gun Violence Like A Public Health Crisis, One Program Sayshttp://waer.org/post/treat-gun-violence-public-health-crisis-one-program-says
61605 as http://waer.orgWed, 08 Mar 2017 22:43:00 +0000Treat Gun Violence Like A Public Health Crisis, One Program SaysCheryl CorleyCopyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST: The number of anti-Muslim hate groups nearly tripled last year. That's just one of the dramatic statistics in a new report by the Southern Poverty Law Center. NPR's Cheryl Corley has more on the growth of hate groups in the U.S. CHERYL CORLEY, BYLINE: This annual count from the Southern Poverty Law Center includes groups like the Ku Klux Klan, neo-Nazis and other white nationalists, along with anti-government patriot groups and anti-LGBT groups. The SPLC's Mark Potok says their numbers have consistently been on the rise since about 2000. MARK POTOK: The radical right out there is booming. CORLEY: The overall increase shows a 3 percent rise in the number of hate groups. POTOK: From 892 groups in 2015 to 917 last year. CORLEY: And part of that growth is due to what Potok calls the Trump phenomenon. POTOK: So in many ways, Trump has co-opted these groups, co-opted their issues in terms of land use, in terms of guns, in terms ofSouthern Poverty Law Center Records Rise In U.S. Hate Groupshttp://waer.org/post/southern-poverty-law-center-records-rise-us-hate-groups
60747 as http://waer.orgWed, 15 Feb 2017 21:29:00 +0000Southern Poverty Law Center Records Rise In U.S. Hate GroupsCheryl CorleyAlgonquin, Ill., is a Republican stronghold. The growing town of 28,000 is about an hour's drive northwest of Chicago in McHenry County, the only one of six in the metro area to vote for President Trump. At Short Stacks, a small diner on Main Street, Ginger Underwood sits at a table with her two adult daughters. She voted for Donald Trump and says that, so far, she is glad she did. "I think Trump is doing exactly what he said he was going to do when he ran for office," she says. "So that's fine with me, that he's doing what he's doing." It's been 12 days since Trump was sworn into office and between a flurry of executive actions and his choice for the U.S. Supreme Court, it has been a whirlwind of activity. Underwood, who does volunteer work for a local environmental group, says she has no worries about the pace of executive actions during Trump's first days — and, in fact, likes them all. But she does say she wishes the president would be more, as she says, tactful, when he doesTrump Supporters Cheer Quick Starts On Campaign Promises In His First Weekshttp://waer.org/post/trump-supporters-cheer-quick-starts-campaign-promises-his-first-weeks
60192 as http://waer.orgThu, 02 Feb 2017 05:36:00 +0000Trump Supporters Cheer Quick Starts On Campaign Promises In His First WeeksCheryl CorleyCopyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST: It's a little more than a year since the city of Chicago released video showing a white police officer shooting a black teenager, Laquan McDonald, 16 times. Protesters poured into the streets after the long-delayed release of the video, and they called for reforms. Today, U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch went to Chicago to discuss the Justice Department's year-long investigation into the city's police department. NPR's Cheryl Corley reports. CHERYL CORLEY, BYLINE: Chicago is the latest city to have its police department come under the close scrutiny of the Justice Department following a controversial fatal encounter between police and a citizen. In 2014, 17-year-old Laquan McDonald was shot 16 times by a white police officer, but it took a court order for the city to release the police video. That officer has since been charged with murder. Today, Attorney General Loretta Lynch said the Justice Department had interviewedDOJ Report On Chicago Police Finds 'Pattern Of Excessive Force'http://waer.org/post/doj-report-chicago-police-finds-pattern-excessive-force
59503 as http://waer.orgFri, 13 Jan 2017 21:41:00 +0000DOJ Report On Chicago Police Finds 'Pattern Of Excessive Force'Cheryl CorleyPresident Obama's adopted hometown of Chicago is often the stage for pivotal moments in his career. He claimed victory in Chicago in 2008 and again in 2012. And it's where he will give his farewell address on Tuesday night. Many Chicagoans use the word "pride" when talking about Barack Obama. You can hear it in their voices. In this city, where President-elect Donald Trump got only 12 percent of the vote, admiration for President Obama is strong. Kim Chisholm stood with thousands of others in the bitter cold this weekend to get a ticket to Obama's speech. "I'm so excited," she says. "History in the making. I never made it to the White House, but I will see him here in Chicago." Chicago officials say there are pluses and minuses to having such close ties to the Obama administration. On Monday, the city won a federal grant for nearly $1 billion to upgrade a major portion of the city's elevated commuter rail line. Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Obama's first White House chief of staff, worked toBefore Farewell Speech, Chicagoans Reflect On President Obama's Legacyhttp://waer.org/post/farewell-speech-chicagoans-reflect-president-obamas-legacy
59372 as http://waer.orgTue, 10 Jan 2017 23:23:00 +0000Before Farewell Speech, Chicagoans Reflect On President Obama's LegacyCheryl CorleyCopyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: We are spending the hour on an issue that we believe concerns Americans from across the political spectrum. We're talking about violence, especially gun violence. Needless to say, the attack at Fort Lauderdale International Airport yesterday has focused our attention on this again. Five people were killed and several others wounded by a former Army reservist who struggled with mental illness according to his family. But we are going to focus our conversations today on a place that's been forced to confront violence on a daily basis. We are talking about Chicago. More than 4,000 people were shot in Chicago last year. More than 700 people were killed there. There were more murders in Chicago last year than in New York and Los Angeles combined. And the new year has not brought respite. We're going to hear from a variety of voices - former gang members, public officials, including the head of the Chicago police, survivors andGun Deaths In Chicago: Why Is This Happening?http://waer.org/post/gun-deaths-chicago-why-happening
59266 as http://waer.orgSat, 07 Jan 2017 23:19:00 +0000Gun Deaths In Chicago: Why Is This Happening?Cheryl Corleyhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBZPCDqymyo Deadly encounters between police and civilians often made 2016 a year full of palpable tension. Across the country, demonstrators took to the streets to protest police shootings, while at the same time officers in a number of states were targeted and killed by gunmen. Both situations have prompted law enforcement to examine use-of-force policies. Early next year, the FBI will take the first steps in developing a national database to track police shootings. Currently, the country's 18,000 police departments report crime information voluntarily, so media outlets and academics such as Philip Stinson, a criminologist at Bowling Green State University, work to create their own comprehensive list of police shootings. "My best estimate is that about 1,000 times a year an on-duty police officer shoots and kills someone," he says. Stinson says prosecutors consider most of those cases legally justified and few officers face charges. Even so, severalIn 2016, Violence Pervaded Policing On Both Ends Of The Gunhttp://waer.org/post/2016-violence-pervaded-policing-both-ends-gun
58822 as http://waer.orgMon, 26 Dec 2016 21:25:00 +0000In 2016, Violence Pervaded Policing On Both Ends Of The GunCheryl CorleyWith Donald Trump's choices for secretaries of transportation and of housing and urban development — Elaine Chao and Dr. Ben Carson, respectively — there may be hints about the urban agenda Trump's administration may be shaping. Some big-city mayors say they're worried about potential cuts in federal funding that candidate Trump warned about on the stump, and they are reaching out to the president-elect. They say they have plenty of ideas they want to share about the country's cities. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, a former chief of staff to President Obama, met Wednesday with Trump, at Trump's invitation. It gave Emanuel a chance to hand-deliver a letter from mayors of some of the country's largest cities. The letter asks Trump to continue the Obama administration policy that prevents the deportation of so-called DREAMers — young immigrants who came to the United States before they were 16 years old and so named for meeting the requirements under the Development, Relief and Education forFrom Immigration To Infrastructure, Big-City Mayors Draw Up Wish List For Trumphttp://waer.org/post/immigration-infrastructure-big-city-mayors-draw-wish-list-trump
58180 as http://waer.orgThu, 08 Dec 2016 23:14:00 +0000From Immigration To Infrastructure, Big-City Mayors Draw Up Wish List For TrumpCheryl CorleyCopyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit KELLY MCEVERS, HOST: Demonstrators have been out in force all across the country today protesting the completion of the Dakota Access Pipeline. The federal government halted construction of the pipeline yesterday, saying it needed to study it more. And today the company building the pipeline has gone to court in an effort to finish the project. NPR's Cheryl Corley is with us from Bismarck, N.D. Hi there, Cheryl. CHERYL CORLEY, BYLINE: Hi. How are you? MCEVERS: Good. So tell us. What are the protesters - what are they saying that they want? CORLEY: Well, you know, this is a protest that has been going on for quite a while now. And what they want essentially is for the pipeline to be stopped, for it not to exist. And it's all about water, oil and heritage. The Dakota Access Pipeline would run through four states. It would hook up to an existing pipeline in Illinois. And the company building it, Energy Transfer, says the pipeline is just a moreDemonstrations Continue At The Dakota Access Pipelinehttp://waer.org/post/demonstrations-continue-dakota-access-pipeline
57339 as http://waer.orgTue, 15 Nov 2016 21:36:00 +0000Demonstrations Continue At The Dakota Access PipelineCheryl CorleyIt will be a night of tension and hope for baseball fans in Chicago when the Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers play Game 6 of the National League Championship Series on Saturday. If the Cubs win, they will move on to the World Series to face the American League champion Cleveland Indians. It will be a step closer to fulfilling a wish of a faithful fan, 101-year-old Virginia Wood. Wearing a Cubs T-shirt and surrounded by family, Wood was ready for baseball Thursday night when the Cubs and Dodgers took to the field. Her wheelchair not far from the television, the former physical education teacher knew what she wanted to see from her team. "I just want to be sure they get the first run," Wood says. "I really do. I think it makes a difference." And the Chicago Cubs did not disappoint — scoring in the first inning. Wood attended her first Cubs game at Chicago's Wrigley Field in 1924. She was 10 years old. As an adult, she would go as often as she could, especially with friends after work on 101-Year-Old Chicago Cubs Fan Hopes Beloved Team Grants Her Birthday Wishhttp://waer.org/post/101-year-old-chicago-cubs-fan-hopes-beloved-team-grants-her-birthday-wish
56389 as http://waer.orgFri, 21 Oct 2016 23:13:00 +0000101-Year-Old Chicago Cubs Fan Hopes Beloved Team Grants Her Birthday WishCheryl CorleyCopyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: And let's remember a man who brought blues to music fans across the country. Phil Chess has died at age 95. He co-founded Chess Records, the Chicago label that was home to Etta James and Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf. NPR's Cheryl Corley has more. CHERYL CORLEY, BYLINE: Phil Chess and his brother, Leonard, started out running a liquor store then a nightclub and eventually got into the record business. By 1950, their namesake company had become the label for urban blues. (SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "I CAN'T BE SATISFIED") MUDDY WATERS: (Singing) Well, I'm going away to leave, won't be back no more. CORLEY: Two decades ago, Phil Chess told public TV station WGBH then in the studio, the brothers would catch the blues as it came. (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) PHIL CHESS: We have the machine going, then later and we would put in the drums and then sax or guitars, whatever it took. CORLEY: The relationship between Phil Chess, hisCo-Founder Of Chess Records, Phil Chess, Dies At 95http://waer.org/post/co-founder-chess-records-phil-chess-dies-95
56299 as http://waer.orgThu, 20 Oct 2016 11:55:00 +0000Co-Founder Of Chess Records, Phil Chess, Dies At 95Cheryl CorleyIn an effort to heal the fractured relationship between the Chicago Police Department and city residents, the city council voted to approve a new police oversight agency, but some critics say the new agency isn't a solution to the problems facing the community. The police oversight agency investigates police misconduct cases, but after the Independent Police Review Authority reviewed hundreds of cases and rarely found the police officers at fault and last year's release of a video showing a white officer fatally shooting a black teenager caused national uproar, the agency is getting an overhaul. Policing the police The video showed Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke shooting 17-year-old Laquan McDonald 16 times. The case prompted big changes including the murder charges against Van Dyke, an investigation by the Justice Department and the city's internal effort to police the department. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel says there have already been a lot of improvements made to help keepChicago City Council Approves Oversight Agency To Police The Policehttp://waer.org/post/chicago-city-council-approves-police-oversight-agency
55820 as http://waer.orgThu, 06 Oct 2016 23:10:00 +0000Chicago City Council Approves Oversight Agency To Police The Police